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George Zimmerman will seek 'stand your ground' hearing

Judge can dismiss charges if Zimmerman shows he fatally shot Martin because he believed he might be harmed or killed

MIAMI — George Zimmerman will seek to have second-degree murder charges dismissed under Florida’s “stand your ground” law in the shooting death of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin, his attorney said Thursday.

The hearing, which likely won’t take place for several months, will amount to a mini-trial involving much of the evidence collected by prosecutors as well as expert testimony from both sides. Although the posting did not say so, legal experts say it’s likely that Zimmerman himself would testify since he is the sole survivor of the Feb. 26 confrontation.

“Most of the arguments, witnesses, experts and evidence that the defense would muster in a criminal trial will be presented in the ‘stand your ground’ hearing,” said the statement posted on Zimmerman’s official defense website.

Under the law, Circuit Judge Kenneth Lester can dismiss the charges if Zimmerman conclusively shows he fatally shot Martin because he “reasonably believed” he might be killed or suffer “great bodily harm” at the hands of the unarmed teenager. The law also says a person has no duty to retreat in the face of such a threat.

Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch volunteer, shot Martin after a confrontation in Zimmerman’s gated community in the central Florida town of Sanford, where Martin was visiting. The case drew local and nationwide protests because Zimmerman was not arrested for weeks after the shooting.

Evidence released by prosecutors, the Zimmerman statement said, shows “clear support for a strong claim of self-defense.” The statement added that Zimmerman attorney Mark O’Mara “urges everyone to be patient during this process and to reserve judgment until the evidence is presented in the ‘stand your ground’ hearing.”